The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to electrical contacts having plated portions and electrical connectors that use such contacts.
Electrical contacts can be plated with material that facilitates the electrical connection of the contacts with other contacts. For example, known electrical contacts include a compliant tail that is configured to be inserted into a plated thru-hole and also a mating beam that is configured to slide or wipe along a surface of a mating contact to electrically engage the mating contact to the electrical contact. The compliant tail may be plated with a material that is suitable for press-fit engagement with the plated thru-hole. The mating beam may be plated with a material that is suitable for the electrical connection between the mating beam and the mating contact. By way of one example, the mating beam can be plated with a gold material and the compliant tail can be plated with a tin or tin-lead material.
In some cases, during the manufacture of the electrical contacts, the bodies of the contacts may be susceptible to capillary action or wicking in which a solution travels along the surface of the contact body. For example, a solution of one material may travel along the surface of the contact body and react with a different material that was previously plated to the electrical contact. In such cases, unwanted intermetallic compounds may be formed that can negatively affect the electrical performance of the contact. The intermetallic compounds may also be susceptible to flaking in which the intermetallic compounds do not adhere to the contact body. Although different processes have been proposed to prevent the formation of intermetallic compounds, these processes may be, for example, cost-prohibitive, unsuitable for smaller dimensioned electrical contacts, and/or unsuitable for the desired type of electrical contact.
Accordingly, there is a need for electrical contacts that are configured to impede capillary action of plating solutions during the manufacture of electrical contacts.